Golf tee

ABSTRACT

A plastic golf tee having upper and lower parts, the lower part being relatively rigid for insertion into the ground and the upper part being relatively resiliently flexible for engaging and supporting the golf ball, said upper part including a manually engageable, centrally disposed abutment for pressing the lower part of the tee into the ground, said abutment being located so that it does not normally engage the golf ball. The upper part of the tee has a flexible and upwardly diverging sidewall defining a frustum of a core. The upper edge of the sidewall normally supports the ball out of contact with the abutment. A pin extends downwardly from the abutment into an aperture in the lower part to secure the upper and lower parts together.

United States atent Assistant Examiner-Theatrice BrownAttorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn ABSTRACT: A plastic golf teehaving upper and lower parts, the lower part being relatively rigid forinsertion into the ground and the upper part being relativelyresiliently flexible for engaging and supporting the golf ball, saidupper part including a manually engageable, centrally disposed abutmentfor pressing the lower part of the tee into the ground, said abutmentbeing located so that it does not normally engage the golf ball. Theupper part of the tee has a flexible and upwardly diverging sidewalldefining a frustum of a core. The upper edge of the sidewall normallysupports the ball out of contact with the abutment. A pin extendsdownwardly from the abutment into an aperture in the lower part tosecure the upper and lower parts together.

PATENTEU FEB IBIS?! 13.559.99U

INVENTOR.

GOLF TEE The upper part 12 of the tee has an upwardly diverging.relatively thin sidewall 13 which defines an inverted frustum BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION of a cone. The upper edge 14 of the sidewall 13 ispreferably This invention relates in general to a golf tee and, morepardisposed s'uhstahhahlf within a Plane perhehdichlar to the axisticularly, to a type thereof providing more stability in the sup- 5 ofrhvolhhoh of the sldewah 13 for ehgagmg and thereby P port of a golfball, minimizing breakage and minimizing inter Porhhg golf h T upper 12has a Central abut ference of the tee with the movement of the golf balland/or meht l7 mchhhhgh radal h whlch defines a frustum of golf clubwhen the bail is Struck whiie Supported by the tee. upwardly convergingcone within the sidewall 13. The lower edge of the radial wall 18 isintegral with the lower edge of the 0 sidewall 13. The abutment 17 has aflat top wall 19 which preferably lies within a plane disposedintermediate the upper and lower edges of the sidewall 13. The top wall19 is preferably spaced slightly downwardly from the adjacent side ofthe golf ball 16 supported upon the upper edge 14 of the sidewall 13, asshown in FIG. 2.

It will be seen that the diameter of the upper edge 14 of the upper part12 can be varied substantially, while keeping the supported ball 16 at asubstantially constant distance from the abutment 17. For example, theheight of the wall 13 can be increased as the diameter of the edge 14 isincreased. However, it is believed that the diameter of the edge 14 ispreferably and approximately in the range from three-eights inch to 1inch.

The spacing between the abutment 17 and the supported ball 16 ispreferably such that the tee can, if desired, be urged into the groundby holding the two in their FIG. 1 position. The sidewall 13 will bestretched sidewardly (not beyond its elastic limit) until the ball 16bears against the abutment 17 (FIG. 4) which thereafter transmits thepressure to the lower part 11.

The upper part 12 of the tee also includes a downwardly Any personhaving average experience at playing golf is aware of the number of golftees that are broken in playing golf. Such broken tees create manyproblems, such as an untidy appearance on the golf course, the necessityfor constantly replacing them and the interference they can create formechanical mowing equipment used on the golf course. In 1 5 order tominimize the foregoing problems, as well as the financial loss, golftees are frequently made as small as possible. However, this increasesthe difficulty of locating the tee after it has been used and rendersthe tee more easily breakable.

Some attempts have been made to overcome the foregoing 20 problems byproviding a relatively soft or pliable and pointed tee, but these havebeen difficult to urge into the ground, particularly when the ground wasdry or hard.

It is believed by some golfers that conventional rigid golf tees, suchas those made from wood or substantially rigid plastic, create someobstruction to movement of the ball away from the tee. In order tominimize such obstruction, some golfers insert the tee into the groundso that it leans in the direction of intended movement. Thus, the lip ofthe ball-engaging cup creates a minimum of interference, However, thisis a delicate procedure and sometimes permits the ball to roll extendingpin 22 which iS ihtegiai at its upper end with the top Offthe teedust ash behg F I wall 19 and which is spaced radially inwardly from and con-Accordmgly, a P oblect of thls lhvehhoh 15 the P centric with the radialwall 18. The radial wall 18 and pin 22 Sioh Ofa golfiee which givesadequate pp to the golf bani define an annular recess 23 within theabutment 17. The pin which cah he urged with ease into relatively hardground, and 22 preferably extends a substantial distance below the lowerwhich creates a minimum of obstruction to the movement of edge f thesidewall 13 as illustrated in g 2 the ball y from the tee when Struck ya golf ih The lower part 11 of the golf tee 10 has a substantially con-A further Object of this invention is the Provlsloh of a golf ventionalshank 26 terminating at its lower end in a pointed tip we, as aforesaidwhich is capable of withstanding the blows 27 which facilitates pressingof the golf tee into the ground. from a golf club Wllll'lOUt breaking,even when It IS in hard The extreme upper end portion 28 of the lowerpart 11 is in ground, and which is not easily knocked out of the ground,but h f f an dl diverging fru tum of a cone which i which can be easilyn if it snugly receivable into the recess 23. However, in order to per-Other Objects and purposes of hi invention will become mit suchrecessing, a pin opening 29 is provided concentrically apparent topersons familiar with golf tees after reading the i hi h upper d of thelower t 11 a d it extend following descriptive material and examiningthe accompanydo ardl to receive the pin 22, ing drawings, in which: Theupper portion of the shank 26, just below the frustum FIG. 1 is a sideelevational view of a golf tee embodying the d 28, d f a o tion of an uwardly diverging cone which invention and supporting a golf ball. at itslower end merges with the cylindrical central portion of FIG. 2 iS asectional view taken along the line "-11 in FIG. 1. the shank, The upperend of this diverging cone blends into FIG. 3 is a fragment of FIG. 2including part of a golf club the outside surface of the sidewall 13when the portion 28 is and showing the tee during impact by the club.within the recess 23. Thus, the lower part 11 has a flat, annular FIG. 4is a fragment of FIG. 2 showing the ball in engageand upwardly facingsurface 32 near the upper end thereof ment with the abutment. whichengages the lower edge of the sidewall 13.

The diameters of the pin 22 and pin opening 29 are SUMMARY OFTHEINVENTION preferably such that the pin 22 is firmly held by the wallsThe objects and purposes of the invention, including those dehhlhg thehpehlhg Ah h Such as ah epoxy reslh' set forth above, have been met byproviding a plastic golf tee may be apphed to the ehgaglhg Surfaces of hupper and having a relatively rigid lower part and a resilientlyflexible lower parts 12 ahd respechvely' Also the pm 22 ahd the 0 wallsof the opening 29 may be provided with cooperating upper part forengaging and supporting a golf ball. A relatively rigid abutment isprovided in the upper part for urging the tee gnppmg means Such as ascrew thread Further due to the axial length of the pin 22, a secure andstrong connection is liifi iie ri iiih but the abutment IS normallySpaced from the provided between the upper and lower parts 11 and 12 sothat the upper part does not tend to tear or pull off from the lowerpart when by the club. It will be recognized that, by using refinedmolding The tee a Preferred mbodimeht of whlch l5 Illustratedtechniques, it is at least possible to mold the upper and lower n FIGS-1 and is comprised Ofa relatively Stifflowel' P 11 parts of the teetogether from two different plastics in a single and resilientlyflexible upper P 12 which are firmly held molding operation.Furthermore, it is within the contemplatogether. The lower part may befabricated from nylon or tion of this invention that, by appropriateprocessing during similar plastic material which can be molded, whichcan be the molding operation, a selected plastic material might be bentwithout breaking and which can be urged into the ground provided withmore rigid characteristics in the lower part of with relative ease. Theupper part 12 of the tee may be the tee and with more resilientlyflexible characteristics in the fabricated from polyethylene or similarplastic material which upper part of the tee so that only one type ofplastic material is is durable, relatively easily bent and resilientlyflexible. actually required to produce both parts of the tee.

OPERATION While the operation of the above-discussed tee will beapparent to skilled persons from an examination of the foregoingdescriptive material, it is summarized hereinafter.

The lower part 11 of the tee is inserted into the ground by placing saidlower part between the first and second fingers of the hand and placingthe thumb on the top wall 19 of the abutment 17. Alternatively, the balland tee can be gripped together in a conventional manner so that theball 16 can be used to drive the tee in the ground as discussed above.That is, the ball will be urged against the abutment 17 (FIG. 4) wherebythe tee is urged into the ground. The ball 16 is then placed upontheupper edge 14 of the upper part 12 of the tee which the ball can bestruck with the golf club in the usual manner. However, if the golf clubhead strikes the ball only, and does not touch the tee, the resilientlyflexible sidewall 13 will bend readily as the ball departs from the teeso that the tee does not obstruct the movement of the ball away from thetee.

If, as usually happens, the upper part 12 of the tee is engaged by thegolf club head, the sidewall 13 will flex under the force exerted by thegolf club head and, it will produce no material obstruction to themovement of the golf club head as it strikes the ball. Moreover, as thesidewall 13 of the upper part is collapsed on the side thereof engagedby the club head, as shown in FIG. 3, the volume of air within the wallmeans is compressed, thereby urging the ball upwardly out of the upperpart of the golf tee. At the same time, the portion of the sidewall 13struck by the golf club head will be pivoted upwardly against the golfball, thereby also lifting the golf ball slightly away from the tee incooperation with the lift created by the compression of the air withinthe upper part of the tee.

While the amount of lift produced by the engaged edge of the wall meansand the compressed air within the upper part of the golf tee may berelatively minor. it is such that it will tend to improve the initialflight of the ball rather than obstruct it, as do conventional tees.

Because of the resilient flexibility of the sidewall in the upper part12 of the tee, the tee is less likely to be disturbed from its positionwithin the ground so that the golfer can promptly remove it from theground and return it to his pocket for use at the next teeoff. However,if the golf tee is knocked loose from its position in the ground, therelatively large upper part thereof can be seen more easily than thesmaller conventional tees. Moreover, because of the resiliently flexiblenature of the upper part, there is much less likelihood that the teewill be broken, even if it is knocked loose from the ground.

By making the lower part of the tee from a readily noticeable coloredplastic, such as a brilliant pink, the tee can be readily found when itis knocked loose from the ground. Yet the pink portion will notinterfere in any way with the attention of the golfer since most of itwill be buried when the tee is used. That is, the upper part of the teecan be fabricated in a less noticeable color.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed in detail above for illustrative purposes, it will berecognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, whichcome within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

lclaim:

l. A plastic golf tee comprising an upper part and a lower part fixedlyconnected to each other, the lower part having a downwardly converginglower end and an upwardly diverging upper end, said lower part beingfabricated from relatively stiff material; the upper part of said teehaving a thin. resiliently flexible and upwardly diverging sidewalldefining a frustum of a cone, said sidewall being formed of materialsubstantially less rigid than said lower part, said upper part havingwithin said sidewall a central, upwardly projecting and relatively rigidabutment with a flat top spaced below the adjacent surface of a golfball engaged by and supported upon the upper edge of said sidewall ofsaid upper part, the lower edge of said sidewall being disposed belowthe flat top of said abutment and being) integrally interconnected tosaid abutment said abutment emg engageable by the thumb of a normaladult hand for pressing the lower part of said tee into the ground, andthe diameter of the upper edge of said sidewall being such that saidball can be urged into engagement with the flat top of said abutment,thereby to drive the tee into the ground, after which the sidewall willreturn to its initial shape, wherein the ball is spaced from theabutment.

2. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the upperedge of the sidewall is approximately in the range of betweenthree-eighths of an inch and 1 inch.

3. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein a centrally disposed pin isintegral with the abutment and extends downwardly therefrom below thelower edge of said sidewall; and wherein said lower part has an upperportion containing a downwardly extending pin opening formed thereininto which said pin is snugly received, whereby the upper and lowerparts are rigidly and firmly positioned with respect to each other.

4. A plastic golf tee comprising an upper part and a lower part fixedlyconnected to each other, the lower part having a downwardly converginglower end and an upwardly diverging upper end, said lower part beingfabricated from relatively stiff material;

the upper part of said tee having a think resiliently flexible andupwardly diverging sidewall defining a frustum of a cone, said sidewallbeing formed of material substantially less rigid than said lower part,said upper part having within said sidewall a central, upwardlyprojecting and relatively rigid abutment with a flat top spaced belowthe adjacent surface of a golf ball engaged by and supported upon theupper edge of said sidewall of said upper part, said abutment beingengageable by the thumb of a normal adult hand for pressing the lowerpart of said tee into the ground, and the diameter of the upper edge 'ofsaid sidewall being such that said ball can be urged into engagementwith the flat top of said abutment, thereby to drive the tee into theground, after which the sidewall will return to its initial shape,wherein the ball is spaced from the abutment, said abutment defining afrustum of an upwardly converging cone having a downwardly diverging,concentric recess, and a centrally disposed pin integral with theupperend of said abutment and extending downwardly therefrom throughsaid recess and below the lower edge of said sidewall; and said lowerpart having an upper end portion defining a frustum of an upwardlyconverging cone snugly receivable into the recess in said abutment, saidupper end portion having a downwardly extending pin opening into whichsaid pin is snugly received, whereby the upper and.

lower parts are rigidly and firmly positioned with respect to eachother. S. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein said lower part isfabricated from nylon and said upper part is fabricated frompolyethylene.

1. A plastic golf tee comprising an upper part and a lower part fixedlyconnected to each other, the lower part having a downwardly converginglower end and an upwardly diverging upper end, said lower part beingfabricated from relatively stiff material; the upper part of said teehaving a thin, resiliently flexible and upwardly diverging sidewalldefining a frustum of a cone, said sidewall being formed of materialsubstantially less rigid than said lower part, said upper part havingwithin said sidewall a central, upwardly projecting and relatively rigidabutment with a flat top spaced below the adjacent surface of a golfball engaged by and supported upon the upper edge of said sidewall ofsaid upper part, the lower edge of said sidewall being disposed belowthe flat top of said abutment and being integrally interconnected tosaid abutment, said abutment being engageable by the thumb of a normaladult hand for pressing the lower part of said tee into the ground, andthe diameter of the upper edge of said sidewall being such that saidball can be urged into engagement with the flat top of said abutment,thereby to drive the tee into the ground, after which the sidewall willreturn to its initial shape, wherein the ball is spaced from theabutment.
 2. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the diameter ofthe upper edge of the sidewall is approximately in the range of betweenthree-eighths of an inch and 1 inch.
 3. A golf tee according to claim 1,wherein a centrally disposed pin is integral with the abutment andextends downwardly therefrom below the lower edge of said sidewall; andwherein said lower part has an upper portion containing a downwardlyextending pin opening formed therein into which said pin is snuglyreceived, whereby the upper and lower parts are rigidly and firmlypositioned with respect to each other.
 4. A plastic golf tee comprisingan upper part and a lower part fixedly connected to each other, thelower part having a downwardly converging lower end and an upwardlydiverging upper end, said lower part being fabricated from relativelystiff material; the upper part of said tee having a think resilientlyflexible and upwardly diverging sidewall defining a frustum of a cone,said sidewall being formed of material substantially less rigid thansaid lower part, said upper part having within said sidewall a central,upwardly projecting and relatively rigid abutment with a flat top spacedbelow the adjacent surface of a golf ball engaged by and supported uponthe upper edge of said sidewall of said upper part, said abutment beingengageable by the thumb of a normal adult hand for pressing the lowerpart of said tee into the ground, and the diameter of the upper edge ofsaid sidewall being such that said ball can be urged into engagementwith the flat top of said abutment, thereby to drive the tee into theground, after which the sidewall will return to its initial shape,wherein the ball is spaced from the abutment; said abutment defining afrustum of an upwardly converging cone having a downwardly diVerging,concentric recess, and a centrally disposed pin integral with the upperend of said abutment and extending downwardly therefrom through saidrecess and below the lower edge of said sidewall; and said lower parthaving an upper end portion defining a frustum of an upwardly convergingcone snugly receivable into the recess in said abutment, said upper endportion having a downwardly extending pin opening into which said pin issnugly received, whereby the upper and lower parts are rigidly andfirmly positioned with respect to each other.
 5. A golf tee according toclaim 1, wherein said lower part is fabricated from nylon and said upperpart is fabricated from polyethylene.